“Possibly. But you go first.”
“I’ve had one significant relationship,” he says slowly. “Madison.”
I carefully study his eyes, looking to see if there’s any kind of sign of how he feels about her now. Is there longing? Regret? Pain? Relief?
“We got together my sophomore year at Providence. I met her at a party. We had some beers and began to talk. Before the end of the night, I had her number. I didn’t even wait a few days to text her. I texted her that night and asked her out. My teammates gave me so much shit about it, that I had no game, this girl was never going to respond because I was too easy. But it worked. We dated for years.”
“Wow,” I say. “That’s serious.”
“It was. She was my first—and only—serious relationship.”
“So what happened?” I ask, curious.
“Hockey,” Aiden says simply. “I left Providence after my junior year to start my career with Salt Lake, and we lasted another two years long distance. We broke up when my season ended in April. Madison told me she couldn’t do it anymore. She was going to stay out east and go to grad school, and I had no idea how long I’d be in one place with the NHL. She said missing me was too much. It was too hard on her to continue on like that. I fought her on it. I said we’d figure it out. Find a way to make it better for her. But she resisted me. She was crying, I was crying, and it was just sad. Because no matter what people say, sometimes love isn’t enough.”
I’m still studying Aiden’s face. I don’t see sadness there, or regrets. He’s just speaking in a matter-of-fact way about his experience.
“I’m so sorry,” I say quietly. “That had to be so hard. Especially when you want to fight, and the other person doesn’t.”
“Yeah. That’s why the trade to Miami was good. I felt like it was a clean start for me. New city, new teammates, new system. All kinds of things to keep me busy this summer. And distracted.” Then he looks at me. “What about you? When was your last serious relationship?
“The longest I dated someone in college was three months. You know, the point where you usually break up or decide to commit to a relationship. The three-month rule.”
“That’s a thing? A three-month rule?”
“Yes. That’s usually a point for couples who are dating where they either end it or go forward.”
“Is this a real thing or a Google thing?” Aiden teases.
“Both!” I exclaim, and then we burst into laughter.
“Did you end it or did he?”
“I ended it. Drew was a nice enough guy, but I just didn’t see potential for a future.”
“Did you break a lot of hearts?” Aiden asks, his eyes dancing at me.
“Ha, no. I just never met anyone I wanted to be in a relationship with long-term. I need chemistry. I need for the man to be a man. Past the red-cup stage of life. I want him to know what he wants and have goals and ideas for how he hopes to achieve them. I’m looking for someone … different. Special.”
Someone like you, Aiden, my heart whispers.Someone like you.
His fingertips resume drumming on the tabletop. “My turn for a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Did your brothers scare off a lot of guys? I bet they didn’t want anyone around their little sister.”
I chuckle at that. “Oh, you have no idea. In high school, not one guy on the hockey team would look at me, let alone dare to talk to me, thanks to my older brothers.”
“It’s like Coach now,” Aiden says with a smile.
I look at him in horror. “Oh my God! Did my dad actually tell the team not to talk to me?”
Aiden quickly puts up his hand. “No, no, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just we all know you’re Coach’s daughter. Sowithout it being said, you’re off-limits. Like your brothers made you in high school.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I was about to be mortified for a second.”
“No, no reason to be mortified,” he reassures me.
